The LG Optimus 3D

We brought you details of the teaser video, ahead of everyone else, and now LG has made its first foray into the multi-dimensional world of 3D with the LG Optimus 3D, and now we can confirm that it's official.

The new phone will sit at the top of LG’s smartphones, making the Optimus 2X look like a poor vagabond on the street as the company shows that for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona it’s all about the high-end.

At the core of the phone will be a massive 4.3-inch 3D WVGA screen that will let you, at the touch of a dedicated 3D button, turn the screen from 2D to 3D, so you can play 3D games or watch 3D movies without glasses.

Rather than turn the entire handset into a mind-boggling 3D experience, LG has instead created a hub on the phone that you enter. It’s a trick it's done before and if you’re old enough to remember the LG Secret and its motion gaming hub then you’ll get the idea of what it is trying to do here.

Press the button and you are automatically immersed into a three-dimensional experience with that large screen helping you to enjoy the content in front of you.

To make the most of this LG has signed a number of 3D content agreements to get the ball rolling, including one with YouTube, that means you’ll be able to record a 3D movie and upload it straight away in 3D to the video sharing site from Google.

But if you’re not looking to make content, then you’ll be wanting to enjoy it, and LG has said that the phone will ship with three 3D games specially built for the new smartphone from Gameloft: Nova, Let’s Golf 2, and Asphalt 6.

There will also be 3D movie trailers pre-installed, and a 3D book of Gulliver’s Travels to excite your kids - and it's fair to say they will be. The illustration is very much in the style of a Victorian pop-up book, but it works well.

On the multimedia side (before we get to those 3D capabilities) there’s a 5-megapixel dual-lens camera that’s capable of 1080p MPEG-4/H.264 recording and playback in 2D and 720p H.264 SEI recording and playback in 3D. The Optimus 3D will support H.264, H.263, DivX, MKV, WMV-9, ASF, AVI, 3GP, MP4 formats.

The only downside? The phone will launch with Froyo when it ships in May, but LG assured us that it will be upgradeable to Gingerbread as soon as possible, with the company already working on making that happen.

The LG Optimus 3D has so far been confirmed by Vodafone, Orange and Three in the UK. LG are saying May for a UK release.

If you want to know more, check out our more in-depth First Look review.

Don't miss out on the action - you can keep up to date with all the latest news from the show at our dedicated MWC 2011 page.